It’s Kobe Week here at the Hardwood Paroxysm Basketball Network, and all week everyone has been sharing our thoughts on one of the greatest to ever play the game. Now it’s time for us here at Friendly Bounce to get in on the action. We asked our writers to pick their favorite Kobe Bryant video and to write a short paragraph about it. After watching the videos and reading their words, it will be up to you to decide what is the greatest Kobe video, as we have created a Kobe video bracket to keep in stride with March Madness.
Ed. note: They’re actually all fired since none of them picked this video, which is the real greatest Kobe video of all time.
#1 Seed: Kobe’s left-handed jumper (@ChrisBarnewall):
This is depressing as much as it is awesome. If there was one thing about Kobe it’s that we always knew he wasn’t going to leave the game fading off into the sunset. He was gonna play until we had to drag his barely working body off the court. And then came this moment this year where he had to take a shot with his off hand because of injury, and he made it anyways despite being highly difficult. Add on top that the shot is his trademarked turnaround jumper, and this is one of the greatest moments of Kobe’s career.
#4 Seed: Kobe on Jimmy Kimmel (@wcgoldberg):
Kobe Bryant is so insanely comfortable on a basketball court. As he mentioned in his documentary, it’s his sanctuary. It’s where he feels home. It’s how he expresses himself. But, damn, is he awkward in this interview. Kobe also mentioned in that documentary that, because of moving from Italy to the States, he had a hard time making friends. Naturally, that could lead to some socially awkward behavior. In this interview with Jimmy Kimmel this year, it looked like he wanted to jump out of his skin. When Kobe is trying to be charming, as you see in that first line of questioning about his injury, it’s as uncomfortable as Glen Davis trying to fit into Russell Westbrook’s jeans. For all of his mastery on the court, there is something so humanizing about watching Kobe struggle in front of the camera.
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#2 Seed: Kobe trash talking (@Matt_Cianfrone):
There is nothing that encapsulates Kobe Bryant more than this video. Even in a lost season with terrible teammates Kobe just can’t turn down the intensity. I imagine that much of the good Lakers years featured intense practice sessions that involved Kobe trash talking in a similar manner but this video kills me. Yelling about, and at, Jeremy Lin, Carlos Boozer and Nick Young just kills me. It probably sucked for those guys but for Kobe it was business as usual, even if there was no need for it. It is a bit sad to see Kobe stuck as just the grumpy old man but I still can’t keep myself from laughing every time I see it.
#3 Seed: Kobe getting hit in the face (@IanDougherty):
I didn’t always hold Kobe Bryant in a good light. You see: I grew up in San Antonio, as a Spurs fan. During the course of my childhood, the Spurs faced off against Kobe’s Lakers in countless postseason battles, with both teams winning their fair share of the series’ and championships in the process. As a kid, when watching a rivalry in any sport, you learn to hate the opposing teams best players. I hated Shaq because he was a bully, and seemed like a jerk on the court. I respected his dominance, though. He was easily the best player in the game when he was winning titles with the Lakers, and I couldn’t take that away from him. Kobe, though? I had no respect for him. He was the second banana to Shaq. I hated that he was a volume shooter. I hated that he didn’t play fundamental basketball. I hated his Sprite ads and stupid looking Adidas shoes. So when I saw that he had gotten into an altercation with then-Knicks player Chris Childs, and that Kobe had been punched twice in the face? It was like heaven for a hater. I had even more ammunition to throw at a player I had so much disdain for. That’s the thing about Kobe Bryant, though. He works so hard, and plays so well so consistently that he forces you to like him. He forces you to respect him. After so many years of watching him will his team to wins, denying anyone else the ability to carry the load, even I’ve learned to love Kobe. He’s one of the best to ever play the game of basketball, and we’ve all been blessed to watch him play for so long.
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UPDATE:
After yesterday’s voting the top two seeds, Kobe’s lefty jumper and Kobe trash talking, have advanced to today’s championship matchup.
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